What an exciting time! Every five years, my company gives me a one month sabbatical in addition to my regular vacation time. In 2011, I took a motor-coach tour of the UK. This year, 2016, I am driving the length of Historic Route 66. From my home city of Denver, I am driving up to Chicago. From there I will embark on a leisurely tour of America, embracing the joy of slowing down. I shall treat the local speed limit as the limit – I don’t need to go that fast! I will stop for the night at whatever inn or motel should capture my fancy. I will enjoy meeting people, tourist and resident alike.
But as casual and lackadaisical as I would like to be, some planning is appropriate for an adventure like this. Understand – normally I am an extreme planner! I know where I’m going to be on what day at what time and what I’m doing at all points in between.
“You can be as spontaneous as you want,
if you plan well enough!”
So planning on not planning is actually a big deal for me. I know the day I am leaving, the friends I am seeing at the start, and a general idea of friends I will see when I land in Santa Monica. But once I’m on the road, I’m wingin’ it! So here’s me not planning:
1. Books on Route 66
I have picked up three sets of book/maps. I chose these based on recommendations from various Route 66 sites and Amazon.com reviews. I am happy to recommend them now.
The first is the “Route 66 Adventure Handbook” by Drew Knowles. This is filled with all sorts of stuff to see along the way. He also includes a section on “how to fish” – that is, how to locate a route that, technically, no longer exists. It’s interesting reading and I am filling it with little sticky notes to remind me of what I want to see as I’m passing through a given area.
Next is the “EZ66 Guide for Travelers” by Jerry McClanahan. Spiral bound, so it’s easy to lay flat as you pour over your maps, this book is itself a series of maps with notations of things to see. It’s easy to read whether you are traveling westward from Chicago or eastward from Santa Monica.
Finally, I have “Here It Is: The Route 66 Map Series” by Jerry McClanahan and Jim Ross. There are actually 8 maps, each map covering one state along Route 66. These will help round out your experience and find all those treasures of Americana history.
2. The Budget
Ugh. Gotta talk money. Alas, God has not seen fit to bestow unlimited funds upon me. Not that I haven’t asked on occasion, but as He has given me so many other blessings, I have no complaints.
The big question on every traveler’s mind: what will it cost to drive Route 66? And every blog and article and book will tell you that there are lots of variables and everyone’s trip is unique. They’re right, but if you really want to get down to brass tacks, you need some numbers.
Lodging: From the research I’ve done, the motels along the Mother Road will run, on average, $50 – $70 per night. Some will be more, some less – that’s why I’m saying this is an average.
I love this website! It has links to so many of the motels along Route 66. You can spend plenty of time checking out the different places that you may wish to stay.
Now, I’m not terribly fastidious about needing 5-star comfort. In fact, I’m looking forward to the occasional run down dive – the sort that makes for really great stories! But only occasionally. I think I’ll budget $60/day for lodging.
Food: I can hardly wait to get out there and blow my diet! But, once again, the budget is limited. Plan how much you intend to spend on food each day and remind yourself that every dollar spent on food means the fewer trinkets and souvenirs that you get to bring home with you.
But food has it’s place in the memories! So don’t think I’m saying to avoid all greasy spoons along the way. I’m saying to choose wisely. Plus, “blowing my diet” does not mean throwing all caution to the wind. You can still eat healthy on the road. Stop at the occasional grocery store to buy the fixin’s for sandwiches. You can enjoy peanut butter sandwiches in the car. And warm soda pop (don’t question this – it’s part of the experience). And grapes. I remember road trips with the family when I was little and the best part was when Mom would break out the green seedless grapes from the cooler!
I figure you can get away with $15-$20 per person for food each day. On average!
Fuel: The other big expense! Whether you’re renting transportation or driving your own, you need to fill ‘er up. On the website DrivingRt66.com, they had this link to the AAA Fuel Cost Calculator. It’s a sweet, little tool that will help you get a good estimate of what to expect. For my trip this year, using my little ol’ jalopy, it is suggesting a little over $400 round trip. So I’m going to estimate $20 per day for fuel.
The daily total: These are my big expenses: lodging, food and fuel. I believe that I can make this 3 week trip on $100 per day. (Be sure to read my later entries to see if I actually accomplished this!)
You’ll notice that I haven’t budgeted in souvenirs. That’s because, when push comes to shove, I don’t have to buy the dashboard bobble-head doll or another t-shirt. But even if I choose to go hungry, I cannot opt out of fueling my car or finding a place to sleep. (I’m not twenty-something anymore so sleeping in the car is not an option.) This budget is the bare bones minimum. If I don’t have $100 per day for the length of my trip, then I’m not leaving home.
“You walk a little taller
when you have some money in your pocket.” – Dad
I know I’m going to spend more than $100 per day. As you can well see, I’m a quilting junkie! The one thing none of these books talk about are the quilt shops along the way. I’ll be adding in my quilting adventures as I blog my way down the Road. Quality quilting fabric is expensive! But I am setting my mindset ahead of time as to what “extras” I am willing to buy so that I don’t blow my walking money on every bit of shiny I see. (In both England and Africa, I ran out of cash partway through my respective trips. Not fun.) If I watch my spending, I will be able to bring home a few treasures and make a fabulous quilt to commemorate the trip.
Okay, I know, you’re coming from the UK (or Australia, or Minnesota…) and I haven’t talked at all about what it costs to rent a car or what tour groups are out there or finding the best airfare to get to your starting point. And I’m not going to. This is enough to get you started. I now charge you to go and google to your heart’s content to find more specifics for your trip.
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Yeah, so, that’s it. That’s me not planning. Check back with me soon as I’ll be posting more about the upcoming trip and then, very soon, you can come on the road with me! I’m the sort that sees sunshine through the rain, so we’re going to have a great time driving down Route 66!
I am searching for the other side of the next hill where I am certain I will find new recipes, new sights and new fabric.
- Route 66: Navigating New Mexico - November 22, 2016
- Route 66: Touring Texas - November 11, 2016
- Route 66:Over Oklahoma - June 1, 2016
Whatever happens it will be fabulous! Thank you for planning on sharing your stories so we can go along with you.
Don’t forget the AAA gold card! I can’t wait to read more 😀